In the liquid crystal display field, thin film transistors (TFTs) based on poly-crystalline silicon are preferred because of their ability to transport electrons more effectively. Poly-crystalline based silicon transistors (p-Si) are characterized as having a higher mobility than those based on amorphous-silicon based transistors (a-Si). This allows the manufacture of smaller and faster transistors, which ultimately produces brighter and faster displays.
Flat Panel Display (FPD) glass consists of two sides, a functional side upon which TFT devices are fabricated (A-side) and a non-functional backside (B-side). Typically, the focus is on the high quality A-side because of the sensitivity in fabricating TFT structures over large areas. Noticeably, the B-side contacts a variety of materials (i.e. metals, plastics, rubbers, ceramics, etc.) during processing, in which triboelectrification, or contact electrification due to the friction between two dissimilar materials, transfers charges onto the glass surface. In general, two dissimilar materials charge from contact separation due to their differences in intrinsic work function values or the ability to transfer charge based on their Fermi energy levels. As seen in Equation 1, the more charge accumulated at a surface, the higher the surface voltage. Moreover, when two charged surfaces separate, similar to a parallel plate capacitor (Equation 2), as the separation distance increases, the capacitance decreases. Plugging the lower capacitance back into Equation 1, again, the surface voltage increases due to the separation of contact materials.
                    V        =                  Q          C                                    (        1        )            where V is surface voltage, Q is charge and C is capacitance.
                    C        =                              ɛ            ⁢                                                  ⁢            A                                4            ⁢                                                  ⁢            π            ⁢                                                  ⁢            d                                              (        2        )            where A is the surface area, ε is the dielectric constant, and d is the separation distance. Because glass contact separation is unavoidable during TFT-LCD manufacturing, methods to reduce total charge accumulation at the glass surface are needed.
Electrostatic discharge (ESD)-related issues, such as gate and/or line damage, have been reported. It has been suggested to increase B-side surface roughness as a potential surface attribute that reduces triboelectrification. As a result, new technologies have been developed for the modification of the B-side in order to improve ESD-related performance. As glass sheets get larger and thinner, the potential for higher charge generation increases. Furthermore, roll-to-roll manufacturing of ultra-thin (<0.3 mm) glass also present substantial challenges for electrostatic charge generation.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for glass and methods of manufacturing glass with a reduction in total charge accumulation at the glass surface.